1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to methods and systems of assessing data streams and, in particular, to methods and systems of detecting word boundaries in data streams.
2. Background of the Invention
In the broad, well-established field of wide bandwidth data transmission, analog links are slowly being replaced by digital links in recognition of their superior stability, fidelity, and robustness in the presence of a wide range of environmental conditions. Analog links remain a preferred solution only in the most demanding cases where a lot of data is collected and the resources available for digital hardware is severely constrained. Conventional digital links, though well-crafted and very reliable, depend on industry-standardized formatting at the transmitter which can only be implemented using complex, high-speed digital logic devices, such as a microprocessor or VLSI circuits.
The following are examples of the current state-of-the-art in analog fiber optic links: PSI-1600 Series Microwave Photonic Links by Photonics Systems Inc., XiMod 25/30 GHz fiber optic links by Linear Photonics, and SATCOM Fiber Optic Products by Miteq Like all analog link technologies, their performance is sensitive to environmental factors such as temperature, vibration, and cable flexure, and they degrade the signal irrecoverably due to the fundamental properties of the medium, such as dispersion and dissipative loss.
The following provides an example of the current state-of-the-art in digital fiber optic links: B. Carlson, P. Dewdney, P. Napier, and D. Fort, “Data Transmission and Signal Processing for the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA),” Proceedings of the 28th URSI General Assembly, New Delhi, 2005. Though robust and reliable in the presence of most environmental perturbations, the implementation necessarily requires a great deal of auxiliary hardware in the receiver cabin—a difficult space where resources are extremely limited.